


There's Another Way to Leave the Garden of Eden

by TheHappinessTheory



Category: Far Cry 5
Genre: F/M, Friendship/Love, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-10
Updated: 2019-03-29
Packaged: 2019-11-14 23:58:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18062672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHappinessTheory/pseuds/TheHappinessTheory
Summary: Junior Deputy Eliza Rook is pulled into the war in Hope County when things soon take an unexpected turn





	1. Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> First chapter is very game-dialogue heavy but it curves soon, promise.

Eliza tapped her phone impatiently, checking multiple heights and angles for a signal, but only static greeted her in return. 

“Rookie, hey, rookie.” Sheriff Whitehorse’s voice came through the comms on Eliza’s headset, and she looked up to him from across the backseat of the helicopter. “You’re wasting your time. There’s no signal out here.” 

She stashed her phone in her pocket, believing him, but wondering why the hell the police force would give her a phone if it didn’t even work. She placed her hands on her knees and watched agent Burke as he stared at the paper in front of him.  
“We’re crossing over the Henbane, now,” Pratt’s voice rang. 

Turning her gaze to the window, Eliza peered down into the mist-covered valley below, seeing expanses of pine trees barely grazing the top of the fogs, or picking out the faint orange lights of houses below. She barely had time to take in the sight before a giant stone statue loomed up in her view. 

“Oh, fuck, there he is,” said Joey. 

Eliza leaned closer to the window as the helicopter maneuvered around it. It was impossibly tall and incredibly detailed from what she could see in the moonlight. It pictured the Father, Joseph Seed, standing tall, his right hand outstretched while his left held what she knew to call, His Word. She had guessed it was the cult’s rendition of the bible. 

“Crazy motherfucker,” Burke voiced, catching a few seconds of the statue before the helicopter continued on. 

From the front of the aircraft, Joey Hudson cast them all a glance over her shoulder, looking a little nervous. “We’re officially in Peggie country…”

“How much longer?” 

“Just long enough for you to change your mind so we can turn this bird around,” Whitehorse said. 

Eliza braced herself on her knees. She hadn’t been in Hope County long, just a few days in fact, so she didn’t know much about the Seed family or the cult, but she knew enough that everyone was afraid of them. And if they could erect their own goddamn statue, then maybe everyone was right to fear. 

Burke raised the paper in his hand for Whitehorse to see. “You want me to ignore a federal warrant, Sheriff?” 

“No, sir. I want you to understand the reality of this situation.” Whitehorse twisted in his seat slightly so that he was almost facing Burke. “Joseph Seed is not a man to be fucked with. We’ve had run-ins with him before and they haven’t always gone our way. Sometimes… Just sometimes, it’s best to leave well enough alone.” 

Burke weighed the paper in his hands, his lips pursed. “Yeah, well, there’s laws for a reason, Sheriff.” Whitehorse sighed. “And Joseph Seed’s gonna learn that.” 

The U.S Marshall looked back out the window and there were a long few moments of silence where Eliza started to calm her rising nerves. She wasn’t usually one to get easily spooked, but the way the Sheriff and the other team members were acting, Eliza couldn’t help but gather that none of them thought this was going to end well. 

“Pratt, open a call with dispatch,” Whitehorse finally said, breaking the silence. 

“Ten-four.” 

Whitehorse raised his hand to his headset. “Whitehorse to dispatch, over.” 

“Go ahead, Earl,” Nancy’s voice sounded. 

“We’re approaching the compound, Nancy, over.” 

“Roger, Sheriff. Still planning on going through with this?” There was a slight pause. “Over.”

Whitehorse sighed. “We are – unfortunately – still trying to talk some sense into our friend the Marshal,” he added with a quick glance over. “Over.” 

Burke shook his head. 

“Alright… He’s lucky I’m not there. If you get into any trouble you just let me know. Over.”

“Ten-four, over and out.” 

Pratt tuned off from the comms and looked at them through the mirror. “Maybe we should have brought Nancy along instead of the Probie. These Peggies wouldn’t fuck with her.” 

“Pratt,” Hudson chided. 

“Why do you keep calling them Peggies?” Burke questioned. 

“Project at Eden’s Gate: P.E.G – Peggies. It’s what the locals have taken to calling them,” Eliza answered, speaking since the first time they entered the helicopter. Now, she didn’t know much about the cult here in the valley, it sure as hell wasn’t on the form when she signed up to fill the vacant spot back in her old county, but her team had filled her in with the basic essentials in the few days she’d been there. Especially just before taking her into the heart of their territory to arrest their leader. 

“They started off harmless enough a few years back,” Whitehorse continued, “but now they are armed to the teeth. They’re looking for a fight.” 

Burke reached up and scratched his beard, then nodded his chin to Whitehorse. “Are you scared, Sheriff?”

Before Whitehorse could answer, Pratt chimed in. “We’re here. The compound’s just below.” 

Eliza got her first view of the compound and would be shamed to admit it sent a small spike in her gut. It looked creepy enough without all the fog rolling in from the nearby lake. It wasn’t too large, a warehouse and a few other buildings hazed in. But the green-roofed church stood out the most, its white walls dirtied and standing solidarity on a small ledge by the water. Within the compound Eliza could make out multiple controlled but large fires sending monstrous plumes of black smoke into the air. 

She heard Pratt release a shaky sigh. “Oh my Jesus… This is a bad idea.” 

He wasn’t doing much to boost her confidence against her own nerves. 

“Last chance, Marshal,” Whitehorse said. 

To his credit, Burke took a moment to consider it. She guessed it was easier to understand their fears once he saw the actual place; crawling with Peggies and fighting dogs and surrounded by barbed wire fences with only one way in and out.  
Burke met her eyes. “We’re going in.” 

Whitehorse almost shook his head. “Set her down, Pratt.” 

Pratt seemed to hesitate a moment. “Roger that.” 

She looked out the window as the helicopter slowly started to descend. Eliza swallowed nervously, refusing to let it show in her demeanor. She watched as a goddamn Peggie lit a bonfire with a flamethrower. The most unnerving thing, past all the auto rifles and the barbed wire, were all the Peggies coming out of the woodworks to watch as the helicopter set itself down. There was something in their eyes. Something…feral. 

Eliza tore her gaze away as the Sheriff spoke again. “Dispatch, you still there?” 

“Yes, go ahead, Sheriff,” Nancy replied. 

“If you don’t hear from us in fifteen minutes send in everyone. Call the goddamned National Guard if you have to. Over.” 

Whitehorse started unbuckling his seatbelt, Burke removing the headset as Nancy responded. “Yessir, Sheriff. I’ll be praying for you.” 

Eliza removed her headset as everyone else started to and gave Whitehorse a nod. He nodded back at her and addressed everyone inside the aircraft. “Now listen up. Three rules. Keep close, keep your guns in your holsters and let me do the talking. Got it?” He added, looking specifically at Burke. 

“Got it!” Burke responded. 

“Rook?” 

Eliza nodded. 

“Alright everyone. Stay sharp. Let’s go.”

Everyone hopped out the copter at the same time, except for Pratt, who stayed behind to keep it running in case they had to get out of there fast. The moment Eliza’s boots hit the dirt, she couldn’t shake the rotten feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach. 

“He’ll be in the church, stick close.” 

Eliza followed behind the other three, keeping a close eye on her surroundings, especially the Peggies. They were exiting different buildings and coming out of hiding, most of them baring guns or pipes or knives, all stopping their activities to stare at them. It unnerved Eliza, but she wouldn’t let it show. She kept her gun in her holster, but her hand on the handle, ready to draw it in her defense if she had to. 

God… she was barely a week out of training camp. What in the hell was she getting herself into? 

“Eyes open, these folks can spook easily,” Joey Hudson added. “On me, Rook, stay loose, huh?” 

Eliza forced herself to relax her limbs and trusted her partners as they lead her further into the compound. She may have only been a week out of the academy, but she had still been trained for this. Granted, she didn’t think she’d ever encounter something like this, least of all so soon. 

Peggies were starting to line the paths, all dressed in similar getup of dirty white shirts with the cult’s logo, all brandishing their weapons and sneering as they passed.  
“Be calm. Stay calm, everyone. Just go about your business. This doesn’t concern you.” the Sheriff called loudly enough for the cultists to hear, but not so loud as to threaten. 

“Sheriff, I don’t like this.” 

“Everything’s fine Hudson. Everything’s fine…” 

“Jesus Christ, you’re wearing badges, aren’t you?” Burke scoffed, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, but they don’t respect badges much out here,” Hudson countered.

Eliza couldn’t help but agree with Hudson on this. It took every ounce of her training not to want to run back to the chopper and get the hell out of here. Within the compound, she suddenly felt very trapped and very small. But she stood tall, setting her face neutral, almost hardened, as she exchanged a stare with an armed Peggie leaning against an opened gate. 

“They’ll respect a nine-millimeter,” Burke said forcefully, getting a little too close and causing a sitting Peggie to stand up and hop off the bench, tapping his lead bat in one hand. Eliza watched him closely, but he didn’t make any further moves.  
“Not every problem can be solved with a bullet, Marshal,” said Whitehorse. 

Barking caught Eliza’s ears and she turned to her right to see two massive black bully breed dogs barely held back by their chain leashes, slobber and spit splashing from their mouths as they barked viciously at her, revealing those large and sharp canines that could easily tear her apart. There were two Peggies holding them back behind a fence, but didn’t seem too intent on holding them back for long. 

Eliza hadn’t realized she’d fallen behind until she realized the other tree were waiting by the closed church doors. She made her way over, careful not to suddenly quicken her pace, less it make her seem scared or aggressive, and tried to act casual but on guard as she joined the crew. 

Burke went to open the church doors, but Whitehorse quickly caught the door, keeping it shut. Eliza could hear muffled singing within. Was it Amazing Grace? She wasn’t too sure. She hadn’t been raised religiously.  
“Woah, Marshal. Now we do this, we do this my way: Quietly.” Burke dropped his hand away from the door. “Calmly. You got it?” 

Burke almost seemed to roll his eyes. “Fine.” 

“Hudson, on the door. Watch our backs. Don’t let any of these people get in. Rook – on me. And you,” he added to Burke. “Try not to do anything stupid.” 

Instead of getting offended, Burke placed his hand on Whitehorse’s upper arm. “Relax, Sheriff. You’re about to get your name in the paper.” 

“You’ll be fine,” Hudson said to Eliza as Whitehorse opened the church doors. 

Eliza steeled her nerves and readied herself for anything. Inside the church seemed peaceful and quaint, light streaming in from the cross-shaped window at the far end of the building, lighting up the guns of those inside. She couldn’t remember the last church that had their patrons armed with autos.

At the far end of the building stood a figure obscured by the light, his shadow large and looming over the wooden floorboards. “Something is coming. You can feel it, can’t you? That we are creeping towards the edge…” Whitehorse and Burke cautiously started making their way inside, Eliza following closely behind them. Whitehorse seemed relaxed, but Burke’s hand was over his pistol. “…And there will be a reckoning.” 

The church goers turned towards them now and Eliza forced herself to stare ahead and not at them. 

“This is why we started The Project,” the preacher, presumably Joseph Seed continued, turning to fully face them. “Because we know what happens next. They will come. They will try to take from us. Take our guns. Take our freedom… Take our faith! But we will not let them!”

The Peggies were rising from the pews now, ready to act the moment their leader commanded it. He was coming into focus now as Eliza neared the light. He was shirtless, revealing a plethora of scars and tattoos, some wounds seeming purposefully inflicted. Some scars were carved into words she started to recognize as the seven deadly sins. There was a rosery wrapped around his left hand and even in the dimness of the church he wore yellow tinted aviator sunglasses. His hair, which was brown, was just long enough to be tied into a small bun, and a neatly trimmed beard graced his face. 

“Sheriff, c’mon-“ Burke started.

“Just hold on Marshal,” Whitehorse said, raising his hand. 

As they argued, Joseph Seed continued. “We will not let their greed, or their immorality, or their depravity hurt us anymore!” Whitehorse, Burke and Eliza slowly inched forward, all too cautiously aware of how outnumbered they were and how armed and crazed these Peggies were. “There will be no more suffering!” 

“Don’t pull that trigger,” Eliza warned Burke as she realized his trigger finger was starting to get itchy. 

“No, fuck this.” Before she could do anything, Burke had the warrant in his hand and was shoving it in the face of Joseph Seed. “Joseph Seed! I have a warrant issued for your arrest under the suspicion of kidnapping with the intent to harm! Now I want you to step forward and keep your hands where I can see them.” 

Eliza uncomfortably shifted her weight and shared a glance with Whitehorse. Joseph slowly raised his hands chest-level, but there was something about it that wasn’t pure surrendering. 

“Here they are… The locusts in our garden…” He continued. “You see, they’ve come for me.” 

Eliza’s hand was instantly over her holstered gun as multiple Peggies stood in front of them, blocking their way to the Father. 

“They’ve come to take me away from you. They’ve come to destroy all that we built.” 

She eyed the numbers around her, counting guns and weapons as well. Fuck. If this went sideways, she didn’t think they’d make it out of there alive. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. She started seriously considering what brought her to Hope County in the first place.  
The Peggies were getting riled up, agreeing with everything Joseph said, seeming as trigger happy as Burke was. Whitehorse raised his hands, the only one able to defuse the situation as he noticed Burke unlatch his gun. “Now hold on!” He yelled over the rising voices. “Do not touch that service weapon! Stand down! Everyone calm down.” 

It was not Whitehorse who silenced the riled Peggies however, it was Joseph, who calmly stepped from the pew, touching the shoulders of his faithful. “We knew this moment would come. We have prepared for it. Go,” he told them. “Go…” he added again to their hesitant states. 

Eliza Rook watched in disbelief as the Peggies, short of giving them hateful glances, left without further complaint or hassle. It didn’t do much to calm her rising nerves, but she felt a lot better about this arrest than she did five minutes ago.  
“God will not let them take me,” Joseph said as they left. 

They watched as the cultists left the church, only the sound of creaking floorboards and shuffling feet until Eliza looked back to Joseph as saw his arms and face were tilted skyward. “And I saw when the Lamb opened the first seal. And I heard as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts say ‘come and see..’”

“Step forward,” Burke interrupted, his dangerously low patience already near its end.

Joseph lowered his arms and did as complied, but though not bigger than Burke, his presence was more intimidating. “And I saw, and behold, it was a white horse….” His eyes suddenly flashed over to Eliza and she felt trapped in that gaze. There was something in his eyes that immediately shook and froze her to the core. “And hell followed with it.” He extended his hands to her in surrender. 

Eliza was too shaken to immediately respond. 

Burke jutted his head towards the Father. “Rook, cuff this son of a bitch.” 

Joseph’s eyes had not left Eliza’s. “God will not let you take me.” 

It took Eliza several heartbeats to seem to snap out of whatever she had been in. There was something about his statement, the way he said it, the way he looked at her as he said it, that she couldn’t shake.  
“Rook, put the cuffs on him.” Burke’s voice snapped her to attention. 

She immediately took out her handcuffs and tightened them around his wrists. As she moved to stand behind him he turned his head and whispered; “sometimes the best thing to do…is to walk away.”  
Eliza swallowed. 

She placed her hand on his shoulder, the other gripping his upper arm, and only started walking when Whitehorse and Burke led the way. She didn’t like the feeling of having her back to the other Seed siblings that she failed to notice in the tense moment, but she had to believe they wouldn’t do anything as she led their brother, cuffed, away from them. 

For the first time, Eliza noticed the dozens of empty birdcages hanging from the ceiling, and the scriptures either scratched or painted into the walls. She kept an eye on the shadows of the other siblings as they made their way towards the doors, but to their credit, they did not move or speak a word. 

Whitehorse had barely opened the doors before Husdon was there, looking a little shaken. “We gotta get the fuck outta’ here.” 

“Marshal, take point, we’re going right,” Whitehorse ordered, drawing his pistol for the first time. 

Eliza only realized they had to take a detour when she noticed there was a Peggie truck they’d driven right through the gate, blocking the most straightforward and open way out of the compound. Her throat felt constricted, but she steeled her expression and her body did not give away any of her anxieties. 

“They can’t take the Father!” 

“You can’t do this to us!” 

“They’re taking the Father!” 

Eliza heard various shouts and cried around her but kept close to the other three and kept to the path as they toured around, passing lines of Peggies threateningly holding their guns, or kneeling on the ground and praying or begging not to take Joseph Seed from them. 

She’d never seen a display such as the one that was happening around her. It was almost like a wild dream. 

“What are you doing!” 

“You can’t do this!” 

Joseph said not a word as they led him through his own compound past his grieving flock, Eliza’s nerves only rising each second. More Peggies than she thought possible could fit in such a small place were there, and she had a sinking suspicion that any and every one of them would die for the man she currently had under arrest. 

They needed to get to the chopper and get the fuck out of there. 

Burke and Whitehorse had to push a few Peggies out of the way as they went. None of them so far had tried anything drastic, but they were getting way too close for comfort. Especially for Eliza since reaching her gun wouldn’t be so simple now that she had to keep hold of Joseph. 

She breathed the smallest relief when the saw the helicopter sitting right where it landed, its blades slowly starting to spin, getting ready for takeoff.

“Get back! I am a federal Marshal, I am ordering you to step back!” Burke shouted. 

As they neared the helicopter, the cries of the Peggies started to get louder. They started to follow them down the path, and then one of them made a leap for Burke. Guns were out in a second and he fired two warning shots into the air as Hudson hurried towards Eliza, helping her shove Joseph into the chopper as she quickly climbed in after them, kicking a Peggie in the face that tried to follow. 

They were suddenly all around them, climbing the chopper. One of them grabbed Burke and attempted to pull him out. Eliza was reaching for him, grabbing his vest and pulling back against the Peggie until he punched them in the face and he managed to fasten his seatbelt, Eliza quickly following suit. The blades were spinning quicker now, the chopper slowly rising. There was yelling and chaos all around her. 

“Get them off the fucking windshield” 

“Climb!” 

“Pratt, get us the fuck out of here!” 

“Fuck! Shake them off!” 

Joseph was calmly seated the entire time, his eyes closed, and Eliza swore she heard him fucking singing. Her door had never been shut, and she felt a vicious tug as some batshit crazy Peggie grabbed the collar of her shirt, attempting to plummet them both to the ground. Thankfully, Eliza’s seatbelt kept her rooted, and she managed to shake off the Peggie, not even having time to see them hit the ground before she noticed several more climbing up the goddamn sides of the helicopter. 

These bastards were kamikaze-ing themselves!

“Jesus fuck!” 

“Go, go, go, go, go, go!” 

“Get off me!” 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” 

The chaos only grew thicker, and Eliza could no longer keep her panic in check as Burke had to blast a Peggie in the face to keep them off. They were at least twenty meters in the air and these fuckers just wouldn’t quit!

And then Eliza heard an explosion, and then felt a rumble, and her stomach was in her throat when the chopper started falling. She reached for Joseph. His seatbelt wasn’t on and if this thing crashed he could be thrown from it. She gripped his upper arm as Burke swore at him to shut up while also dealing with a Peggie trying to wrestle his gun from him. 

The last thing Eliza heard were the words of Amazing Grace before the chopper hit the ground and everything went black.


	2. The Reaping

Eliza blinked open her eyes. Everything around her was blurry and uncertain. There was a crackling and brightness of a fire nearby, and someone’s voice desperately yelling… seeming close and yet…somehow very far away. 

Her head felt like a split watermelon and something dug deeply into her hips. She blinked away her confusion to see Burke in front of her, unconscious, hanging upside down, suspended only by his seatbelt. 

“ungh…” Eliza croaked.

“Come in…this is Nancy. Is everything okay? Over.” 

Eliza turned her head still out of it and cringed at how loud the noise felt. All the blood had rushed to her head. She didn’t know how long she’d been hanging here. Husdon was unconscious beside her, and when she looked to where Joseph had sat, she found he was gone. 

There were sparks flying from everywhere around the chopper, and the beginnings of a fire seemed to surround them. She willed herself to shake this grogginess, but her head hurt so much. She felt the trickle of blood down her face and tasted it in her mouth. 

“Please, are you there? Are you there? Are you there, Sheriff?” Nancy’s voice grew more urgent by every second of silence. “Deputy Hudson, if you’re there, please pick up.” 

Then she heard it. A voice singing in the violence and chaos. The words of Amazing Grace… and the already-familiar voice of Joseph Seed growing closer. Panic flared up in Eliza as she searched for the source, but finding none, she tried to reach the hanging headset Nancy’s voice was coming from. 

With grunted effort, Eliza tried to swing to catch it, but it was just out of reach. She finally managed to grab hold of it when a hand suddenly clasped around her wrist, and Eliza froze as the face of Joseph seed came in to view. His glasses had been broken, one lens cracked, and looked like he had a cut nose and cheek and maybe a black eye, but he sure as hell was coming out of this better than she was. 

“Earl! Come in, over!” Nancy continued over the headset. 

Eliza was utterly and completely frozen in fear. 

“Are you there? Somebody, please…” 

She made an effort to take the set but he forced her hand back against the metal wall of the helicopter, causing her to wince as he grasped already fresh bruises, and maybe a fracture. She almost couldn’t bare to meet his blue gaze when he leaned in, very close, and quiet said; “I told you God would not let you take me.” 

Eliza had no response for him. She could only breathlessly stare back. 

“Please, I need to know what’s going on…” Nancy’s voice rang.

Nancy sounded on the verge of tears, and it was only her voice that stole Joseph’s gaze away from Eliza as he turned to grab the headset, his other hand still making sure Eliza couldn’t do anything, and then he looked back at her. “Dispatch?” 

“Oh my God…”

“Everything is just fine here…” Joseph said. “No need to call anyone.” 

 

“Yes, Father. Praise be to you.”  
Eliza’s eyes widened at the realization of what Nancy just said. That fucking bitch had been working for him the whole time! She had been so nice to Eliza when she had first arrived, and now she had practically sent Eliza to her death. 

Joseph let the headset fall away as he studied Eliza’s face. Her brows were furrowed and here eyes were wide and there was a goddamned hammering pain in her skull that wouldn’t cease and she was completely helpless. 

The man in front of her leaned in closer, close enough that their noses almost brushed. Eliza tried to shrink away but had nowhere to go. “No one is coming to save you,” he whispered. 

Eliza could only stare back, wide eyed, and watch as he stepped from the wreckage of the helicopter, immediately greeted by the relieved cries and cheers of the cultists. 

“Father!” 

“God has kept you under the shadow of his wings,” another exclaimed. 

Joseph welcomed them with open arms. “Everything is unfolding according to God’s plan. I am still here with you.” Hudson slowly started to regain consciousness as Joseph hopped up onto the hood of a nearby truck. “The first seal has been broken. The Collapse has begun. And we will take what we need.” Hudson was blinking awake, her mind slowly blooming alive as she took in her surroundings and situation at the same slow pace Eliza had. “And we will preserve what we have.” Coughing from Burke caused Eliza to snap her attention to him. “And we will kill all those who stand in our way. And these…” Eliza looked back to Joseph. “The harbingers of doom will see the truth.” 

Burke coughed again. “We gotta get outta’ here…We gotta get outta here…”

“Begin the Reaping!” Joseph screamed. 

“We gotta get out of here!” Burke yelled with the same urgency. 

Hudson immediately started struggling against her locked seatbelt as the Peggies came for the helicopter. They were taking Pratt and before Eliza could even react they were already grabbing at Hudson. Burke had undone his seatbelt and just booked it. Eliza reached over to Hudson, attempting to help keep her away, but the Peggies were too strong and they stole her from Eliza’s grasp. 

Heart in her throat and stomach in a knot, Eliza frantically started pushing and pulling at her seatbelt, anything to get out of there. Another Peggie started to climb in after her, but a fire suddenly roared and he was pushed away. She would have been relieved if she hadn’t felt those very same flames upon her skin that now threatened to swallow her whole. 

“Let them burn. This is God’s will. This is their punishment.” 

Eliza fumbled at her belt again, her skin already coated in sweat and the flames far too close for her comfort. With a huff she finally managed to get loose and crashed to the ground. Every muscle in her body ached in protest, but adrenaline pumped Eliza forward to scramble to her feet and sprint into the nearby woods, hoping the wall of flames would keep them away. 

“Woah, woah, hey! They’re getting away! After them!” A Peggie yelled.

Eliza Rook ducked as she heard bullets and felt the spray of bark as they lodged in the trees around her. She ignored the whoops and calls behind her, tuning out the gunfire and she sprinted as quickly as her feet would take her. 

She ran until her lungs burned and her thighs ached for her to stop. She only paused to catch her breath once the yells and gunfire had quieted around her. Huffing and gasping, Eliza came upon a house in the middle of the woods. The lights were on despite the place looking abandoned when, with a curse, she realized there was a Peggie there already. 

Eliza crouched down in the tall grass of the woods and carefully watched him. He had a pistol, but it was strapped to his belt and his back was to her. If she was careful, she could take him out without him noticing her. 

Carefully, she started creeping forwards, her years of training kicking in as she crossed the open dirt path, hiding herself behind crates of what seemed to be various kinds of ammo. The Peggie was talking on a hand-held radio, too distracted to notice her.  
Taking a deep breath, Eliza straightened out to her full height. She grabbed his head, and before he could react, she snapped his neck. 

It was her first kill. 

She wasn’t entirely prepared for what that felt like. She covered her mouth with her hand as she started to feel the tears welling in her eyes. No. She couldn’t think like this. It was them or her. And she sure as fuck wasn’t going to let a crazy cult get a hold of and torture and kill her. She swallowed, but then knelt down and grabbed his gun. Immediately she checked the ammo, then clicked the safety off. 

Eliza ignored the house. It was too close to the crash site, so the Peggies would check it for sure. And she didn’t want to have any run-ins with any Peggies that may be inside it, nor be around when they found their fallen comrade.  
So she kept running. Deeper and deeper into the woods, hoping to find a trail or a river or even a stream. She needed something to follow. She was new to Hope County and didn’t know jack shit about its landscape or even where the fuck she was. How far had they gotten before the chopper crashed? She couldn’t imagine too far, the Peggies were all over it. They’d only been in the air for a minute. 

In the academy, she’d been in a big city, so they hadn’t exactly trained her for running in the dark in the woods. She kept tripping over underbrush and roots and running into thick bushes that slowed her progress. 

She knew she couldn’t stop running, though. She had to find somewhere she recognized and make it back to the police station, then radio the outside for help. Jesus… would the radios even be working? 

Not long after, perhaps ten minutes of running, Eliza came across another house. She slid to a halt at the edge of the trees and carefully inspected it. The porch light was on, but there didn’t seem to be any Peggies or civs, even though there was a Peggie truck just outside.  
Cautious, Eliza slowly stood, her pistol at the ready as she made her way to the house. She checked the truck for keys first. None, dammit. Then they had to be somewhere in the house, if there was no one nearby. 

She busted down the door, pistol at ready, but was unprepared when someone shoved her aside and placed a gun to her head. “Jesus, Rook!” she lowered her gun at the sound of Burke’s voice, and turned to find him breathless and scared just as shitless as she was. He lowered his gun and Eliza took a deeper breath. 

“Thanks for leaving me back there,” she hissed, taking a quick look around the house. 

“It was absolute chaos back there. Those fuckers were grabbing everyone left and right. I’m sorry, but my instinct was to get the fuck out of there.” 

She supposed she understood the self-preservation instinct, but that didn’t make him any less of an asshole for leaving her for the Peggies to grab. She suddenly had a moment to wonder what would happen to her if they had grabbed her. They got Pratt and Hudson… God… What were they going to do to them when the crazy cult was content on watching her burn alive?

As they cautiously made their way deeper into the house, once knowing it was clear, Marshal Burke leaned against one of the banisters and took a deep breath. “Oh, Jesus. I had no idea. Fuck!” He turned to his left and noticed a picture of the Seed family sitting on the wall. He grabbed it gingerly, but then Eliza saw his knuckles tighten and he slammed it down on the table, shattering the protective glass. “We are putting this whole family away. All of ‘em. Fucking lunatics!” He angrily walked away and grabbed a gun leaning up against the windows, carefully inspecting it. It seemed to be an auto, though of the build, she wasn’t sure in the dark. “We’re getting out of this, Rook. First thing’s first, gotta arm ourselves…Here.” He tossed the gun to Eliza and she caught it with her spare hand, inspecting it herself. 

The gun was old, a little rusty in some places, but the Peggie bastards were dumb enough to leave it loaded. This would take care of a good number of them until they got to safety. Burke grabbed his own pistol and started sneaking towards the nearest window. 

“Alright. Here’s what we’re gonna do. There’s a road out there. We’re gonna take it. We’re gonna head northeast. It’s probably only a few hours backs to Missoula.” He leaned forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “And then we’re gonna come back here with the goddamn National Guard and we’re gonna take out the rest of these-“

“Come on, they’re over here!” A voice sounded from outside. 

Eliza exchanged a glance with Burke, then crouched her way over to the window, peering through the pane to see Peggies emerging from the woods. She barely had enough time to duck down as the glass above her shattered as one of them fired right at her. One of the shards cut her cheek, but that was the least of her concerns. 

“Find the keys!” She shouted at Burke before taking aim. 

Before raising her head, she laid down some covering fire for herself before she was able to properly take aim. As Burke searched the house, they came out of the woods like a flood. They were armed, but thankfully not well defended and not trained like she had been. Her bullets fired through their bodies, racking up a decent total as Burke grabbed the keys and headed outside. He ducked behind one of the ammo crates, firing a few shots himself, but Eliza doing the most of the work.  
Where she thought she would be afraid or regretful, she only found a calm wrath as she took out the bastards one by one. 

She heard the revving of an engine and the frantic yelling of Burke to get her ass in the car. She didn’t trust him to stick around for long, so she vaulted herself out of the window and booked it for the truck, trying to dodge the bullet spray that greeted her. Thankfully, the Peggies were bad shots. 

She opened the door and threw herself into the truck, slamming the door behind her after Burke had already slammed his foot on the gas pedal, launching the truck forward.  
“Nice work back there! I’d be dead if it weren’t for you!” Burke swerved from the dirt path onto a concrete road that led them over a bridge and into seeming quiet, but Eliza knew it wouldn’t last for long. “We gotta get back, but we gotta be smart. We don’t know who we can trust…” 

“Fucking Nancy,” Eliza hissed. 

She watched as a red flare was shot into the sky from somewhere ahead

“Oh no… Oh no…They got the roads blocked!” 

Eliza leaned out the window, gun at ready when she saw multiple Peggie trucks lining the road. Her finger was on the trigger before she even noticed, bullets flying left and right and Burke slammed harder on the gas, determined to push through the block. He swerved trucks left and right, forcing their own truck through wooden barricades and anything else that couldn’t be avoided. 

Behind them, more Peggies started following in trucks and ATVS. The only time her bullets stopped was when she needed to reload the gun. She didn’t think about death. She didn’t think about killing. About fear. She was the perfect machine in those moments. They were targets at target practice, and she needed to be the top grade. 

She focused on the drivers mostly, knowing the passengers would have little they could do without someone driving. Sometimes she was lucky and the dead driver slammed them headfirst into a concrete barrier or a tree or off a bridge. The truck sometimes bucked when Burke couldn’t avoid the corpse of someone Eliza had mowed down ahead of them. 

Burke kept shouting directions the Peggies kept coming from, and Eliza kept firing. They were harder to hit once they got off-road, especially since the gun wasn’t calibrated properly, but she did damn better than she even gave herself credit for. 

“Is that a fucking plane? Don’t you tell me these guys have fucking air support!” 

Eliza dared tear her eyes away from the pursuing Peggies to watch as a small fighter jet soared over them, and she couldn’t help but curse profusely herself. 

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” Burke swore as the plane dove, firing its main guns at them. 

Eliza dove down from the window, attempting to guard herself behind the dashboard. Burke managed to swerve away from the fire, but that plane was sure to be a problem unless she figured out a way to take it down. 

The Peggies kept coming, and they kept firing, and Eliza was not without her bullet scrapes and wounds. Nothing was too serious, she hadn’t been shot yet, and she would keep holding them back until she ran out of bullets, or she no longer physically could. 

They started coming across a large steel bridge that she thought might provide them some relief from the Peggies…that is, until she heard Burke start screaming. She looked up to see the plane had circled back around, and it had more than guns. 

She saw the explosions up ahead and had nothing to prepare with. The missile hit. The car went over the bridge. She barely felt the impact of the water. She must have blacked out because next thing she knew, she was under water, Burke swimming away from her, the car sunk deep into the lake. 

Her lungs were screaming for air and she kicked, propelling herself away from the truck, reaching up, up, up…. But the surface seeming so far away. Her lungs screamed and every instinct in her fought her to gasp and take a breath. She could barely resist the urge anymore, even though she knew all she’d be greeted with was water. 

She woke up on a shore, trash all around her, gasping and coughing air, her adrenaline gone and complete exhaustion taking over her body. 

“There were two in the truck! In the trees, check the trees!” 

Panic surged through her, and she willed herself to move, but only fell back down on her back. This was it. This is how they found her, how they captured her. Would they torture her? Would they kill her? Both? 

“Check the shoreline!” 

She saw their flashlights shining through the mist and the night, far away, but also dangerously close.

“No! Get off me! I am a United States Federal Marshal!” 

She heard his exclamation of pain, and the swivel of light it followed. 

“This one needs a little faith… take him to the pilgrimage.” 

Eliza huffed and lay flat on her back, barely managing to keep her eyes open. She couldn’t even muster panic when she realized someone was standing on top of her, gun pointed at her chest. But then…they leaned down. They grabbed her arm to help her up, then slung her over their shoulder.

She drifted in and out of consciousness the entire way, whoever they were and wherever they were taking her. She glimpsed the night turn to day… treks through the woods… the crossing of a river. She remembered trying to ask something, but her voice failing her before she faltered into sleep once more. 

She blinked awake, truly that time, finding her wrists cuffed by a plastic band to the frame of a bed. 

“My Children…” 

Hearing Joseph’s voice, Eliza immediately panicked, but when she turned to the source, she found it coming from an old-timey radio. There was an older man hunched in front of it, wearing an old army jacket and camo pants, a pistol strapped to his leg.  
“We must give thanks to God,” the radio continued. “The day I have prophesized to you has arrived. Everything I’ve told you is true… The authorities who tried to take me from you are now in the loving embrace of my family… save for one. But this wayward soul will be found. They will be punished… and in the end, they will see our glorious purpose. I am your Father. You are my Children. And together we will march-“ 

The radio abruptly cut off. 

“Goddamn it…” The man sighed, his shoulders raising as he shook his head before finally raising out to his full height, revealing himself as an older gentleman. His head was bald but his beard had long since turned to white, and wrinkles adorned his face, but he looked far from kicking the bucket. 

Apprehension filled Eliza’s gut as he neared, and she scooted as far away from him as she could when he knelt down in front of her. He looked very tired, but not the sort of tired that could be solved with sleep. 

Jabbing a thumb over his shoulder, the man pointed to the radio. “Do you know what that means? It means the roads have all been closed. It means the phone lines have been cut. It means there’s no signals getting in or out of this valley.” He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “But mostly it means we’re all fucked.” 

Eliza swallowed, having no answer for the man. How was she or anyone else supposed to know that simply trying to arrest a man was going to trigger such happenings? They had a goddamn U.S Marshal on their side and it stopped nothing. 

The man sighed, dabbing out the cigar that had been in his hand.

“The goddamn ‘Collapse’… They all think the world’s coming to an end now. They’ve been waiting for it. For years. Waiting for somebody to come along and fulfill their Prophecy and kick off their goddamned Holy War.” 

The fact that the cult thought the world was gonna end didn’t surprise her. Most religious folk since the time of her great-grandmother thought it was said prophesized times, and yet the world kept spinning even after they were long gone. She never, however, heard of a fucking fanatical family making a cult out of it before. 

“Well you sure as shit kicked…” 

“How was I supposed to know?” Eliza demanded. 

He sighed and looked off for a few moments before adjusting his position and leaning closer to her. “The smartest thing for me to do would be to hand you over to the cult myself.” Eliza did not say anything, but simply held his stare, refusing to look away. He was the first to break eye-contact with a huff. “Fuck…”

The man stood up and brought a pocket knife out of his camp trousers. Eliza panicked for a small moment before he reached down and cut her bindings, sheathing the knife back in his pocket once more.  
As she rubbed her raw wrists he said; “Get out of that uniform… we need to burn it. There’s some fresh clothes in the wardrobe. When you get changed, come and see me. We’ll see if we can… un-fuck this situation.” With that, he turned and left the room, disappearing down the hallway. 

Eliza remained seated on the concrete floor for a while, only releasing a large huff once he was gone. Her head still throbbed to shit and she felt like she needed to lie down for a few days. Her wrists were bruised and raw from being tied up, and about every inch of her body ached. It took a strenuous amount of effort for her to stand, her knees at first aching in protest before greeting the stretching sensation. 

She quickly stretched out her whole body before walking over to the steel cabinet and throwing open the doors to be meted with an immediate image of her own face. She jumped in surprise, not even recognizing herself for a moment. “Jesus,” she hissed, leaning in closer. 

Eliza had natural red hair, but she often dyed it a deep ruby red she usually kept in a bun. Now, it was gangly and messy, looking more like a bird’s nest than hair. Sand had dried to her hair, which she desperately tried to comb out with her fingers as she tried to make herself presentable. 

The bridge of her nose was dark purple, accompanied by a cut she didn’t think would scar, but still hurt. She managed to walk away without any black eyes, managing to keep her irises sparkling and blue, but she had Bruises and Scrapes Galore. She’d have to find a sink to clean up. Her fingernails were crusted with blood and dirt and felt sticky somehow. 

Inside the wardrobe, there wasn’t too much variety, especially among the sizes that fit her. She eventually settled on a red flannel shirt, rolled up to her elbows and the first three buttons left undone, and some nicely fitted black jeans. There were a pair of pink-tinted, thin steel-framed heart-shaped sunglasses she nicked off the shelf. She had no idea what a man like that was doing with glasses like these, but she’d be damned if she didn’t admit she was digging them. 

Until she got outside, she placed the glasses atop her head while she searched for anything she could use to tie up her hair. It was long, reaching her mid-back, and doing any sort of work with it loose was a hassle. 

Eventually she gave up and started making her way down the corridor, realizing she must be in some sort of bunker. There were no windows and the walls and floors and ceilings were made of concrete. There seemed to be a room entirely dedicated to the collection of canned goods. Was it really just the cult that thought the world was going to end?

She grimaced as she walked. She may have managed to walk away with some bruises, but it was a chopper crash for christ’s sake! They were big bruises and every muscle in her body tensed and ached with every new movement. Eliza pushed through the pain. If she heard the radio right, there was a cult after her. She didn’t have time to bed rest for a week – let alone even a few days if they had their hound dogs on her. 

Jesus… She missed Missoula. It wasn’t so far away, yet it didn’t have a crazy cult. She should have stayed at the precinct there. She, for the life of her, couldn’t remember what possessed her to apply for the transfer. Everyone warned her it would be boring. Well… they couldn’t have been more wrong. 

The bunker was decently sized. Or, she guessed. She’d never been in one before. She didn’t think anyone in Missoula had one. She didn’t like the feeling. It was too confining. She felt too big. Her claustrophobia was starting to set in – she needed to talk to the man and fast. 

She eventually found him in a dark room lit solely by a singular red light. He was standing over what she guessed was some sort of radio console. It was large with more buttons than she could count, and he was speaking into a microphone. 

One the left wall was a large peg-board with pictures of each of the Seed family and some documents and papers, all connected by red strings wrapped around tacks like some goddamn conspiracy board. Well, if he saved her life, she wouldn’t question his hobby choices. 

Eliza briefly inspected the map directly across from her that features all of Hope County, divided intro three sections by red marker with tacks indicating at some important places, she guessed. There were some areas that were circled, and right over Falls End was a big red X. She ran her index finger over the marker - seemed fresh. Jesus, what had happened after the car went over?

Finally, Eliza cleared her throat to grab the man’s attention, and leaned against the wall, crossing her arms after lazily placing her deputy’s clothing on the table. “So, what’s the deal. Why’d you save me from the Peggies?”

“First thing’s first.” The man extended a hand. “The name’s Dutch.” 

She accepted the greeting. “Eliza Rook.” 

He huffed. “Oh, I know. Your name is all over the Peggie radios.” 

Eliza raised her eyebrows. Nancy. Of course she gave them info on everyone in the HCPD. “What happened to my team members?” 

“I can’t hear much going up-top. Peggies have jacked the tower. Little I can gather is that your partners are still alive… For now. Seems they’ve been split up – each handed to a different member of Joseph’s ‘family’…” 

Eliza pursed her lips and looked down to the floor. She didn’t know them well enough, she had only been there a week, but she wasn’t about to leave them for dead. “Alright, what can I do?”

“You want ‘em back, I get it. I’ve got friends that were taken too,” Dutch responded. “Problem is; there ain’t no help coming.”

Eliza scoffed at that. “The Peggies initiated a goddamn civil war and there’s no one coming? I don’t believe that.” 

“I told you – roads are closed, radio towers blocked. No one in or out.” 

Eliza pushed off the wall, steeling her gaze. “Exactly. You’re telling me the government isn’t going to look at this shit and do something about it?” 

Dutch almost laughed and it made Eliza’s blood boil. “When was the last time shit went down in a small town and the government came to help?” 

“Then I’ll leave. I’ll find another way out of this goddamned valley and get help myself.” 

“With what? Aviation? Only way out of this valley now is over the mountains – that is, if you can find a plane that the Peggies don’t already own. Anyone caught smuggling civ’s in or out of here is going to be shot down in a ball of flame by those sickos.” 

Eliza bit down hard on her lip, looking to the cracked concrete floor before finally meeting Dutch’s gaze again. “Fine. Then what do you suggest I do? I’m not going to leave my team, and I’m not about to go down without trying.” 

Dutch walked over to the map hung on the wall and crossed his arms, staring at it with a large huff escaping from his lips. “There’s people out there willing to fight the cult. We aren’t the only ones. We just need to show ‘em how. Build up a resistance.” 

Eliza arched an eyebrow. “A resistance?” Dutch was making it sound like a war was happening up above, she was scare to believe but… after what she witnessed after Joseph called for the Reaping well… she wasn’t so skeptical. She took in a deep breath. She hadn’t been trained for this, but she had been trained. She could do what needed to be done until she could get help. “What do I do?” She repeated. 

He nodded, pointing to an island on the map. It seemed to be almost directly center of Hope County, and she guessed that’s where they currently were. “First thing we’re gonna do is take control of this island. Once we get some breathing room, we can figure out what’s coming next.” 

“You want me to get rid of the Peggies here?” 

“More than that. These cultists are really into conquering and building. They’ve got an outpost where they store Bliss. That shit’s dangerous and deadly. They’ve got shrines as well – destroy those and that’ll send them a message. Otherwise, just do what you can to help folk around here. Liberate hostages, help ‘em out against the Peggies, anything. The more we push, the more people will help.” 

Outposts? Bliss? She didn’t know what Bliss was, but did he mean the Peggies were setting up fortresses? Did he expect her to cull every Peggie she saw? The law and her training told her that every man was innocent until proven guilty – and even then, the first thing to do wasn’t to shoot them in the face. But she remembered what happened last night. How many of them had chased her through the woods – how Joseph was going to watch her burn alive. These fuckers had to go. There was no doubt. 

She looked back up at Dutch as he started to speak once more. “If you’re going to build a resistance, there’s something you need to know.” He gestured to the map. “Now, Hope County is divided into three regions. To the north, you got the Whitetail Mountains. It’s run by Jacob Seed, the eldest brother of that fuckin’ family. Jacob’s the one training the cult – and he’s damn good at what he does. Eli and the Whitetail militia have been trying to hold out, but Jacob’s ready to step on their necks.”  
Eliza only had moment to study the northern map before Dutch continued. 

“Southeast of there, you got the Henbane River. That’s Faith’s territory – the little ‘sister’. I’ve heard all sorts of stories about people losing their minds in a place called The Bliss. Now to the west is the Holland Valley. John Seed has just rolled in there and is taking everything in the name of the cult. Food, supplies, and worst; people. I’ll keep you posted on any useful calls I hear, but you need to clear the island first. You’ll find a gun and a map in that safe over there,” he finished, nodding to the safe near the door entrance. 

“And that’s it?” Eliza asked, raising her eyebrows. “Kill the cult, kill the Seeds?” 

“You make it sound so easy.” 

“I know it’s not easy. But if they’ve got my fucking friends… If they’re terrorizing and kidnapping and killin’ people, then I’m willing,” she declared. 

The injustice in the world is what made her sign up to the PD in the first place. Place her in a county riddling with it? Well, bastards were in for a surprise. 

“Just point me in the direction, and I’ll shoot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so long, I just had trouble finding a smooth way to end it


	3. To Be Free From Sin

A 1911 strapped to her belt along with a radio, Eliza started up the steps of the bunker, eager to leave such confined spaces. She pushed open the rusted metal bunker doors, immediately squinting at how bright the sun was before lowering her heart-shaped shades. Once her eyes were slightly more adjusted, only then did she lift her shades, taking in the lush green all around her. In the distant she could see current of the lake gently lapping against the shore. Tall pines and oaks rose all around her a deep underbrush grew in all directions. 

It was one of the reasons she liked Hope County so much. It was so green. She had been raised in L.A, the city of angels, and while it was the prime spot for her initial career, she hated the city. She needed more green, less people. Less noise, more nature. 

With times like this, she almost missed her old career, just standing in a booth and singing about her feelings and injustices – but it wasn’t enough, even if she missed it. She needed to be out here doing something about it. 

First thing’s first. She checked the map Dutch had given her. It was a standard map of Hope County, but before she left, he had marked multiple locations on it. She looked up, squinting her eyes at the trees, noticing one of the surveillance cam’s Dutch had around the island. She gave him a thumbs-up and headed for the nearest source of water. 

She had to climb a steep foothill to get to the northern island shore, but she refused to do anything until she got her hands and face a little cleaner. She knew there was a bathroom in the bunker she could have used to clean up, but Dutch had been rather… enthusiastic about setting her to work. 

Taking out her binoculars, Eliza focused them almost straight head and focused the lenses, frowning as she did. She could see the compound from the island, the church standing unharmed atop the ledge. It looked completely different in the daylight. She wouldn’t call it a welcoming place, but it looked less threatening under the sun instead of the eerie lights of fire.

She wondered if Joseph was currently in that church, talking another sermon, or warning his flock about her, telling them to capture her as quickly as possible. She wondered if he was standing on the other side of the shore, watching her as well. 

Tucking away the binoculars, Eliza grabbed her radio instead and tuned into Dutch’s frequency. “Hey, Dutch?” 

“Yeah?” 

“You want me to take out the siblings, yeah?” 

“I thought I had made that kind of clear.” 

Eliza nodded her head from side to side. “What’s to stop me from heading straight to the compound and taking out the head Seed himself?” 

“Well…” Dutch paused for a short moment and she could imagine him sighing. “You’d make him a martyr. The cult would probably double their efforts and wreak even more havoc upon the county in retribution. Plus, you’d get all three of his siblings personally coming after your ass. It’s a bad idea, Rook.”

Eliza figured as much, but it still couldn’t hurt to weigh the option. The Seeds would become martyrs to the cult regardless of when their time came, but she figured without at least culling a bit of their number and power, Hell itself would rain down upon her if she snuck in and killed the Father now.

Sighing, Eliza clipped the radio on her belt and carefully stepped around the craggy rocks until she was at the water and plunged her hands right in. The water was surprisingly nice, and not the same icy cold she expected as when the car went over the bridge. The blood and dirt came off surprisingly easy and she cleaned her face before drying her hands on her jeans. 

“Alright, now I’m ready,” she breathed to herself. 

The first thing Dutch wanted her to tackle was a shrine somewhere east of her. Apparently they were containers filled with Bliss that cults used as…altars of sorts? He showed her surveillance of some Peggies kneeling and praying near the shrines, also high off their horses while at it. She couldn’t imagine taking down some baked culties would be too hard. 

Eliza kept her pistol drawn the entire time, refusing to take any chances. Dutch had said there were at least a few dozen Peggies on the island, and from the map, it wasn’t that big. She was bound to run into them sooner or later. 

She came up over a hill, spotting the monstrosity below. There were several Peggies around it, each armed with what looked to be assault rifles. The shrines themselves wouldn’t have been too bad if it weren’t for the giant red tanks attached to them by hard mesh gates. 

As well as guns, Dutch had managed to give her a variety of items. Some knives, grenades, and even some damn dynamite. She didn’t think she’d even seen dynamite until Dutch had showed her his small stash. She didn’t feel as safe in the bunker now that she knew it could just as easily blow up from the inside. 

The man had an array of weapons, offering her shotguns and assaults of all kinds. But in the end, Eliza had stuck with the 1911, stuffing a silencer on it, and had chosen a compound bow he had stashed on the wall. It seemed a fit. Archery had been one of her long-time hobbies. Stealth wouldn’t be an issue with these Peggies, however. 

Eliza regarded the shrine with pursed lips, her hand digging into one of the pouches attached to her belt as she did until she felt her fingers wrap around a familiar stick of dynamite. 

Somehow, in all the chaos that had happened the previous night, Eliza had managed to keep hold on to her trusty lighter. The flame sprung to life with a flick of her thumb and she watched the wick very carefully before arching the stick across the stream.

It wasn’t quite so close to target as she hoped. A Peggie noticed it immediately, yelling and alerting his team, but before anyone could stomp out the fuse, it exploded, igniting the Bliss in a brilliant ball of fire and steel. 

Eliza ducked behind a rock, her heart racing in her chest. It had been… so easy. She hadn’t even contemplated what she had been about to do. She did it without hesitation. Was killing really that easy? Really that simple? Everyone had always told her it was hard to take a life – from media to therapists. None of them had considered the situation Eliza would be in now. 

These Peggies – they were hard to see as human. She saw what they had done during the night of the Reaping, and all that they had been willing to do. They were all fucking feral animals, and sometimes, you needed to do a little hunting. 

She stood back up to inspect the shrine area, hoping to quickly gloss over any gore accumulated in the explosion. She saw a spray of blood here and there and tried to focus solely on the tank of Bliss that once existed, now wiped off the map. Quite literally, she thought, as she removed the marker Dutch had made. 

Eliza didn’t bother radioing Dutch either – she knew he had seen it. 

Next on the list was the radio tower. Dutch couldn’t help her out much unless he knew what was happening off of the island. She could see it from where she was, its tip swaying in the breeze from so high up. Eliza cursed. She hated heights. She was fine in a plane or a helicopter, but standing on a precipice? The only thing stopping her from falling was her own balance? No thanks. 

But it had to be done. 

Grabbing on to the string of her bow as though it were the strap to a backpack, Eliza started trekking through the unmarked trails, her pistol in her free hand, listening for any unwanted guests. 

The trip was relatively quiet, discounting the close-encounter Eliza had with an over-aggressive psycho-turkey. She had swiftly gotten the fuck out of there, not daring to tango with it more than she already had. 

Coming across the radio tower, Eliza found it fenced, but not locked. The door was already half-swung in, and though there was a pack near the ladder, there didn’t seem to be anyone else nearby. 

Squaring her face, Eliza trudged forward and grabbed the first rung of the ladder. It wasn’t heights Eliza was scared of, it was the fact that if she fell, there’d be nothing to catch her. That’s why she wasn’t afraid to be thousands of kilometres in the air in a plane, but was daunted by this simple radio tower. 

Climbing the tower wasn’t too hard until she reached the first landing. Probably only nine yards off the ground, but already making her stomach drop just looking at it. She swallowed nervously, too-desperately clinging to the tower and staying away from the edges. 

Half way up the tower, she froze in place, face paled and limbs stiff. The wind was cooler up here and ran goosebumps along her skin. Her heart was beating almost as quickly as it was during the Reaping. Her throat felt tight and it seemed a battle of wills over control of her own limbs as she forced herself to push through her fear and continue climbing. 

“Jesus, Dutch. If you have me climbing these things all over the county…” Eliza was breathless, but not from physical strain. Heaving her way up to the final, smallest platform, Eliza clung to the radio pole. “Fuck.” This high up, even the tower itself swayed with the wind, making Eliza feel dizzy.

With a shaking hand, Eliza reached up to the control box and threw open the panel. Her fingers clenched around the jamming device the Peggies had strapped on and ripped it off, throwing it to the forest floor far, far below her. 

“Dutch?” She said into the radio. 

“Good work, Rook. I’ve got ears all around Hope County now. Head back here and we’ll see if we can drum up anything useful to get you started.” 

With shaking knees, Eliza got to her feet and saw just how far the ground was below her for the first time. “I fucking hate my life,” she whispered. There was a zipline that would bring her straight to the ground. 

She screamed the entire way down. 

Eliza wasn’t worried about Peggies finding her in that moment so much as the fear that fueled her lungs into an almost operatic octave as she hurdled down that line, the ground zooming to meet her. 

She didn’t stick the landing either. She fell head over heels, landing flat on her back, eyes still wide from her experience on the Tower of Terror. 

“…On my way back, Dutch.” Her voice was so quiet, like a little bird. 

Taking a few deep breaths, Eliza regained herself now that she was back on the ground. She had ducked into the bushes, pistols drawn in case any Peggies came to investigate the noise she had caused. Creeping back to Dutch’s bunker, she didn’t turn her back on the tower until she was far enough away that the trees and underbrush obscured it. 

She threw open the bunker doors, lifting her sunglasses over her head as she descended back into darkness, closing the doors back behind her. Her body still ached, especially with all the new added bruises from her landing failure, but there was something about being out there that let her ignore the pain. Back in the bunker when she was finally able to relax again, those bruises hit home hard. 

Eliza grimaced as she walked down the forlorn corridors until she reached Dutch’s radio room. He was standing in front of one of the TVs, the capture a little static-y, but she could clearly recognize one of the faces on the screen. 

“You’re going to want to see this, Rook. It’s been playing on repeat since you got the radio tower up.” 

Eliza hadn’t paid too close attention to the other Seed siblings the night of the Reaping, but she still recognized all their faces. John was on the TV, wearing that dumb long coat patterned with planes and the cult sigil. He sported the Bonified Seed Beard, and the same baby blue’s that Joseph had. She supposed he was handsome, but he wasn’t of Eliza’s tastes, even if he wasn’t a raging psychopath. 

She crossed her arms and watched the broadcast with bated breath, knowing this couldn’t be good. 

“We are all sinners, every one of us,” he started. On the TV screen, printed in bold letters was the name JOHN SEED, as though anyone watching this wouldn’t know the prick’s face. “You. Me. Even the Father knows deeply of sin. It’s a poison that clouds our minds.” 

He started walking down a path littered with white flowers, an altar adorned with them behind him. If Eliza hadn’t known better, she’d say a wedding ceremony had just happened there. But all it took was to see the seven deadly sins carved into the floor to know more sinister things were happening there. 

And like the TV Evangelist he was, John walked up to two staged Peggies, grabbing them by their shoulders. “What if I told you, you could be free of sin? What if I told you that everything you ever dreamed could come true?” He continued walking towards the camera. “What if I told you that everything could be overcome if you embraced and idea-” The Peggies started walking off to the side, forming a line right of John. “That freedom from sin can come from the power of just one word…” 

John raised his arms as the camera panned upwards to a giant marque spelling the words “YES”, some off-camera Peggies yelling the word in scripted unison. Eliza rolled her eyes. 

The camera turned right and Eliza visibly stiffened. Some Peggie was leading Joey Hudson on staged, tied up, gagged, bruised and frightened. There were marks down her cheeks from running mascara, old and new as tears started again.

“Yes, I am a sinner.” John moved to the side to grab Husdon and bring her central-stage. Eliza’s chest was tight as a knot. “Yes, I wish to be unburdened. Yes.. I must be redeemed. If you’re watching this, know that you have been selected. You will be cleansed. You will confess your sins, and you will be offered atonement. Don’t worry. You don’t have to do anything. Well come for you,” he finished in a sinister tone. “Welcome to Eden’s Gate.” 

The TV went black, static lines running through it. There was silence in the bunker where Eliza just stared, trying to process what it was she just saw. After about Twenty seconds, the broadcast started again. Dutch turned off the TV before Eliza punched the screen in. 

“Where’s that broadcasting from?” Eliza spoke calmly, but her voice was trembling with fury. 

“Somewhere out of the Holland Valley. I told you that’s where John’s held up.” 

Eliza swallowed, her fists clenched at her sides. These people were fucking sick. “I’m going after John first,” she decided. “He’s got Hudson. And if these fuckers can’t reach atonement without Mr. TV Evangelist, then I’m gonna take him away from them.”  


“You’re angry for good reason, but be careful, Rook. The Seeds are devious, and smart. John especially. He was a lawyer before all this shit started.” 

“I’m going to need help.”  


Dutch considered her for a moment. “You could try Fall’s End. It was recently captured by Peggies, but folk there are strong-willed. You free ‘em, I’d bet they’d offer you any support you need. You don’t worry about the island, I’ll clear off the rest of the Peggs, you get goin’.” 

Eliza took in a deep breath and nodded. “Thanks, Dutch. Wouldn’t be here without you.”  


“You can pay me back by getting rid of these Peggie fuckers.”  


Eliza was already grabbing more ammo and supplies from the safe. She knew that broadcast was a specific taunt to her. If the Seed’s wanted to play ball, she’d give them the wrath of Hell itself.


	4. Just Another Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I've been pretty busy lately, but i should be able to upload regular updates now.

Eliza packed what she needed the most, as she only had a backpack and didn’t want to weigh herself down. She had a map, bandages, band-aids, disinfectant and some protein bars in her pack. There were ammo pouches strapped around her belt, a knife sheathed to her thigh, and her radio and water on her waist. Her pistol was holstered on her other leg and her bow and quiver were strapped across her back. 

Feeling ready to face the up-side, Eliza exited the bunker with only quick farewells to Dutch, wishing him luck in cleaning up the rest of the island, and headed east where Dutch said Peggies had stashed a boat a few days back. 

She was cautious, wondering if it might be a trap, but when she was convinced it wasn’t, she pushed the boat back into the water and climbed in. The keys were still in the ignition. She guessed it was in case they needed a quick escape. 

Dutch’s island wasn’t too big, nor was the gap between his place and the main land, but she’d rather stay dry and warm than go for a swim in the waters anyway. She witnessed a few Peggies dropping barrels of Bliss into it and wasn’t intent to find out what that stuff did. 

Eliza didn’t take the boat far for fear of being caught in open water. There wasn’t nearly enough cover for her to feel comfortable, nor was she expertise enough in the vehicle to make an escape in the boat if she needed to. 

She brought the boat up on shore, near a pumpkin farm. If she could find the main road, she knew she could follow it all the way to Fall’s End. Hopefully then, she’d get more insight into what was happening and get some help. 

Eliza hopped the fence of one of the fields and started walking through the patches. She found a lot of the pumpkins already harvested, but it didn’t seem very well organized. She couldn’t imagine it was the actual farmers harvesting these crops. 

From what she understood of the Reaping, everything had gone to shit that night. Whereas the Peggies mostly kept to themselves, they were now on full-blown crusades. They were killing and pillaging, taking whoever they needed by whatever force to try and brainwash them into their cause. Then they’d take anything they could get their hands on. Food, ammo, weapons, supplies – while destroying anything they couldn’t take. 

These fields looked like Peggies had been in them, just grabbing at will. 

When she got to the other side of the field, Eliza spotted a sign that read Rae Rae’s Pumpkin Farm. But overtop it someone had painted SINNER in bright read. Pursing her lips, Eliza looked down both sides of the road. It seemed clear, she couldn’t spot any Peggies – but something didn’t feel right. 

Eliza quickly crossed the road and headed for the trees, climbing up a steep hill to reach her cover. Once settled she could see the warehouse of the farm which seemed to be crawling with Peggies. She counted maybe…a dozen of them. 

Using her binoculars, she spotted two on the roof keeping a lookout, while the other ten were patrolling around the area. Two of them had snipers, the rest had autos or pistols.

When it came to scuffles, Eliza could hold her own pretty well, but she also didn’t like her chances. There were twelve Peggies and one of her. She thought maybe it was possible if she took them out quietly from afar, but she did not like the idea of finding one of the sniper’s scopes trained on her. Even if they were bad shots, you had to get lucky sometime. 

Instead, Eliza turned her gaze further up the road where she could spot a cute little white house. Except it wasn’t so cute anymore. The front lawn was soaked with blood and the cult had driven stakes bearing their symbol into the ground. 

Five. There were five Peggies there. Three seemed to not be paying attention while only two seemed to be on guard – both on opposite ends of the property. Eliza liked those chances a lot better. 

From the house she could hear barking and noticed that the Peggies had a dog in a cage. She didn’t know what they intended to do with it – train it or eat it? Either way, she always cared more about dogs than she did people. No way was she going to let the Peggies get their filthy hands on the poor thing – especially if it hated Peggies as much as Eliza thought it did. 

Creeping closer to the house, Eliza did a run through of all the cultists down the hill. She readied her bow, hoping to do this without bullets firing in her direction. Eliza aimed at the closest guard first. No one was looking at him and he was in a position that no one would notice he was missing right away. He stood lazily, not expecting any more resistance after brutally murdering those inside the house, and was oblivious to Eliza until the moment the arrow lodged in his throat. 

The kill wasn’t as quick as she hoped, as the Peggie chocked and gurgled on his blood for a few moments, but thankfully the other Peggies seemed to be too far away to notice. 

Eliza slid down the hill closer to the house, crouching behind the last bit of shrubbery until she was in the open. She could hide by the shack outside, but she needed to take out the Peggie at the truck first. 

Daring to stand only as much as she needed to in order to pull the string, Eliza aimed at her target. That’s all they were to her. That’s all she thought them as. Just targets. Revolting, murderous targets. And she needed to clear as many as she could.   
Thwip. The Peggie hit the ground, his body hidden from his friends by the overly-large truck wheels. Once the coast was clear she was able to make her way to the shack without being seen. At this angle, she could get a better look at what the Peggies had been doing here. Looks like they had been trying to get the farm owners to join New Eden when things took a sour turn. Both husband and wife were dead on the front lawn, blood spraying the house walls behind them. Their dog was locked in a cage, barking furiously at the left-over Peggies. 

One of the Peggies was in the middle of writing SINNER on their wall on their own blood. Eliza took him out first. The last was still very oblivious to his dead comrades. Eliza had a special idea for him. 

She left her cover and snuck over to the caged dog. She couldn’t get a read on his breed, so he was most-likely a mix. He was molted greys and shy browns with these beautiful big blue eyes. Her mother used to tell her dogs could always tell the difference between good and bad people, because when the dog noticed her, his tail started wagging. 

Eliza crouched down in front of the lock, fiddling with it for a short while. She never learnt how to pick locks. Now would probably be the best of all times to learn. The lock wasn’t going anywhere, and Eliza didn’t want her back to the Peggie for too long, so she hid behind the outer wall of the house and shot the lock with her pistol. 

The Peggie turned in alarm, but the dog was already out of his cage. “Oh fuck-” he didn’t even truly get to finish the word as Eliza saw the dog leap at the Peggie. They both went down, and only the dog got back up. 

“Hey, who’s a good boy?” Eliza questioned in a baby voice. 

The dog’s tail waved questioningly. 

“You’re a good boy!” 

The dog’s tail waved excitedly. 

“C’mere.” Eliza crouched down and spread out her arms in invitation. The dog immediately sprinted forwards, knocking into Eliza with a force to send her flat on her ass. She just laughed and pet the dog’s head until her fingers found his collar and name tag. “Boomer, huh?” 

Boomer barked as though in confirmation. 

Eliza scratched his head. “Sorry about your owners. But how bout you come hang with me? You watch my back I watch yours?” 

He barked at her. 

“I don’t speak dog, but I’ll take that as a yes.” 

Thus, Eliza found her first friend in Hope County. She and Boomer (whom she elected to call Boom Booms sometimes) made their way back to the main road, avoiding the outpost. Even with a dog, Eliza wasn’t sure she was ready to take that on. She’d need a bigger arsenal. 

Boomer was a great dog, too. He followed her like a shadow and listened to every command she gave him. She had taken a good ten minutes figuring out which cute tricks he knew, too. 

They followed the main road, but Eliza decided to stay hidden within the trees. Peggies were crawling all over the place. She spotted a Peggie truck almost every three minutes. When she had first gotten to Hope County, she hadn’t even seen a trace of them. Now it was impossible to pretend they weren’t there. 

Eliza tuned in to the frequency Dutch gave her. He said if there was anyone still fighting at Fall’s End, they’d hear her. She had tuned in about an hour down the road, listening for anyone else who might be using the frequency, but it was quiet. Better than the Peggie propaganda on most channels. 

Finally, when they were about half way to Fall’s End, Eliza brought the radio to her lips. “This is Deputy Eliza Rook. Can anyone hear me? Over.” She waited in a few minutes of silence before she tried again. “10-9 this is Deputy Eliza Rook. Anyone read me? Over.” She didn’t wait as long the third time. “10-9 this is Deputy Eliza Rook. Can anyone copy? Over.” 

If no one answered that final time she was content in believing the cult had gotten complete control over the town. She was about to shut it off completely when she suddenly heard static from the other side. 

“Dep-u-tee…” A voice sounded.

Eliza suddenly grinned wickedly, recognizing the voice. “John. I don’t think we’ve been introduced before.” 

“Deputy… It’s a surprise. My family and I were starting to wonder if you’d survived the crash. We found no body in the car, however, so Joseph was optimistic. I myself had a feeling you were crawling around in the dirt somewhere.”

“Hey, man, I gotta ask you something.” 

There was silence from his end. 

“What’s with the whole TV Evangelist thing?” 

Silence. Then, “I beg your pardon?” 

“I mean, it was obviously staged, and poorly at that. I felt like I was at my grandmothers watching Benny Hill being told to dial 1-800 to be saved in the eyes of Jesus. It was almost laughable, really.” 

“Why don’t you tell me where you are, Deputy. Then we can talk face to face.”

Eliza eyed the giant YES sign situated up on a mountain to the north, like Hope County’s version of the HOLLYWOOD sign. “Oh, you’ll know where I am soon enough.” Eliza turned her gaze back ahead. “You should be honored, John. You’re the first on my list.” 

To his credit, John seemed vaguely amused. “Oh? And what list would that be?”

“The order of which I’m going to bury you and your Siblings.” 

Static greeted her end and Eliza stopped walking and just waited. 

“You have a lot of anger in you, Deputy.”

“Release Hudson and I might rethink your placement on the list.” 

A laugh came from his end. “I don’t need to know where you are, Elisabeth Rook. I will find you. And I will come for you.” 

Eliza wouldn’t admit it, but she was slightly unnerved by his statement. Something about it just felt…true. However, she mockingly smiled instead. “How romantic. Promise?” 

“You won’t be laughing then, Deputy.” 

The frequency went dead. Eliza pursed her lips. 

Oh, he wouldn’t be the one laughing in the end.

From then on Eliza had to be more careful. After their conversation, John had put the Peggies in the Valley on high alert. There were more of their vehicles and personnel about, looking a little more observant than usual.

But Eliza couldn’t help but smile. Was he really so easy to aggravate? 

She knew she could somehow use that against him, but she needed a plan first. She needed allies. And the best way to get them was Fall’s End. She’d sweep it right out from under John’s nose and really get his goat. And then she’d go for John. When she was prepared and ready. When she could make him choke on his own laugh. 

Eliza could see Fall’s End on the horizon, surrounded by flat farmer’s fields. Not a lot of cover outside the town. The town itself didn’t seem so great either. She was pretty sure there was a building on fire somewhere, and the place was absolutely crawling with Peggies. She hadn’t wanted to deal with twelve of them, and now she was dealing with double that number. Perhaps more. 

She found a spot at the top of a hill that overlooked the town that she was able to spy from. There were definitely several buildings on fire, one having already been burnt to the ground and was now simply smoldering. Due to this, Eliza couldn’t help but think the taking of Fall’s End had only happened recently, as well as the fact as it seemed the Peggies were only rounding up the civilians on Fall’s End now. 

There was a woman in a green flannel shirt tied up laying in the center of the road with an armed Peggie standing over her. She must have said something he didn’t like because she was soon kicked straight in the gut. 

Eliza noted another man near the church. He had a bulletproof vest on, so obviously he was itching for a fight. Eliza knew if she could get guns in their hands, they would definitely help her take the town back from the Peggies. 

There were a few other civilians about that Eliza noted. She didn’t have many weapons herself but take down a few Peggies and there was plenty to go around. And judging by the look of this place, these people were definitely fighters. Given the chance, they’d help clear the town. 

She noted her first target – a sniper on a roof with no one on the lookout for them. If Eliza could take them down, she could silently pick off a few Peggies before she freed the civ’s and really got the fight going. 

Petting Boomer on the head and grinning, Eliza straightened back out and made a large curve around the town, going especially out of her way not to get spotted. There wasn’t much cover around the town and the last thing she needed was to kick off the fight before she was ready. 

Guarding the ladder to the roof was a single Peggie, but a quick shot to the heart with her bow and arrow sent him down without a noise. 

“Stay here, Boom Booms. Bark if something’s wrong.” She patted his head and grabbed the first rung of the ladder, quickly climbing her way up to the roof. 

The sniper wasn’t even concerned with the ladder. He was standing bored at the edge, not even using the scope of the gun as he lazily looked about the town. Clearly these people didn’t expect any other resistance. 

Eliza grabbed her knife from her sheath and quietly made her way across the flat roof. By the time the Peggie noticed she was there, her knife was already across his throat. She caught his body before his collapse made a noise and pried his gun from his hands. She lowered herself to one knee and checked the sights and range. Seemed pretty decent. It had a silencer on it too – perfect. 

She spotted a few Peggies on the outskirts that nobody would notice if they went missing – at least for a little while. She picked them off first. Next was the center street itself. That was a little more difficult. All those Peggies were in sights of each other and would notice if someone went down. She’d have to be quick. 

The first Peggie was the one by the green flannel. The moment the bullet went through his skull the alarmed shouts went off and the gunfire started. Eliza took down one more before she had to stash the sniper and duck out of the way. The roof didn’t exactly have great cover. 

Eliza dashed over to the ladder and slid down, hitting the ground with a run as she took out her 1911 and cocked it. She checked the corner, shooting a Peggie that was getting too close, and dashed for the truck. She felt the heat of the bullet spray as she slid to a stop behind the truck, taking her knife back out as she greeted the woman in front of her. 

“Hi, I’m Eliza,” she said breathlessly, cutting her bindings. 

“Mary May. We can save the chatter for later,” she said as Eliza handed her the sniper rifle. “Think you can get to the Pastor?” 

Eliza dared a peek over her cover only to immediately duck back down as she was greeted with more bullets. The Peggies were closing in now, attempting to surround them. 

“That the guy by the church?” She asked. Mary May nodded. “If you can grant me some covering fire, sure.”

Mary May checked the sniper, though not ideal for laying down a hail of bullets, it would do. 

By the way this woman handled a gun, Eliza knew she had to have some sort of training before. This was wild Montana after all, there were few people who didn’t know their way around a gun out here. She did a quick over of the gun as Eliza had before peaking her head up and immediately taking shots. 

Eliza rolled out of cover to an old concrete barrier. There were a few bullets in her direction, but nothing close to what was aimed at her before. 

“Come get it, Peggies!” Mary May shouted, starting to lure them in a different direction. 

Eliza whistled for Boomer who went speeding ahead and leaped at the one Peggie blocking her back route to the church. Before the man had even hit the ground, Eliza was rushing ahead, crouched low as she ran for the nearest house. Creeping along the back, she was able to come out beside the church, where most of the backs of the Peggies were turned to her. Thanking Mary May in her mind, Eliza cocked her pistol and took aim. 

Two Peggies hit the ground before they realized they had been flanked. By the time they turned, Eliza took out another, and a bullet from Mary May took out the last Peggie directly guarding the pastor. 

Realizing his opening, the man started to crawl along the ground towards Eliza, which was difficult as his hands were tied behind his back. A few Peggies shouted and ran towards the pastor to either eliminate or detain him, but Eliza and Mary May together were able to efficiently take out his attackers. 

When the coast was clear enough, Eliza ran forward, meeting the Pastor half-way behind an old road barrier and cut the Pastor’s bindings. 

“Thank you,” he said in a deep voice. 

Eliza had never heard of a pastor that knew his way around a rifle, but the man didn’t even hesitate as he grabbed a gun off of one of the near-by Peggie bodies. “I’m Jerome.”

They exchanged a brief handshake, Eliza’s nails dried with blood and dirt. “Eliza Rook.” 

“Now let’s clear out this tow-”

Jerome’s words were cut off by the near-deafening sound of a plane as it swooped overhead, raining a hell of bullets upon the town. Eliza swore as she ducked further, only looking back once the plane started to ascend again. 

“That’s one of the Chosen!” Jerome yelled. He must have seen Eliza’s confused face for he continued. “They’re the Elite of the Peggies. Taking him out will send a message.” 

“That’s great, but…” Eliza looked down at her pistol and gave Jerome a small wave with it. “I don’t think this can take down a jet.” 

He jutted his chin to the close roof across from the church. “There’s a mounted gun up there. You’ll be in the open, but that has the best chance of taking down the plane.” 

Eliza eyed his bullet-proof vest. “You sure you don’t want to do that?” 

Jerome gave her a bloody grin and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’ve got this, Deputy.” 

“Of course I do,” Eliza sighed. 

She waited until the plane went over the town once more before breaking her cover and sprinting across the open street. Every time the plane got closer to hitting her. She was clearly his target. Maybe taunting John before liberating the town wasn’t the best idea, but if she could take out one of his VIPs, well… the thought of how angry he’d be sent a smirk to her face. 

Eliza clambered up the ladder and mounted the gun. It was heavy and took effort to swing and aim, but she found the plane in her sights and pulled the trigger. The vibration of the gun firing so many bullets in a second reverberated into her bones and she had to clench her jaw to stop it from chattering. 

The plane weaved and swerved in attempt to dodge her fire, but Eliza had him. She saw a spark of fire in the engine and knew that was it. There was an explosion as Eliza pumped her fist in the air in victory, and the plane went down in the near-by field.   
“Woo!” Mary May screeched from somewhere below her. “Ya’ll fucking Peggies! This is our County!” 

Well, that had been an encounter Eliza hadn’t expected to survive but…she did. 

She looked over the roof down at a Mary May, grinning ear to ear, who waved Eliza over. “Get down here, Dep. I’ll get ya’ something nice and cold to drink.” 

Eliza smiled back and stashed her gun, ready for some reprieve.


End file.
